Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India — Although this was the first tourism research conference held at Aligarh Muslim University, the subject matter and depth of the presentations were world-class. Of the nearly 140 presentations included in the abstracts, 36 were devoted to the impact of the situation in Kashmir. Numerous others focussed on issues such as peace tourism, medical tourism, religious and spiritual tourism, the role of technology, branding, marketing and Human Resources Development.

More than 150 academics and student researchers participated. Aligarh Muslim University is hoping to use the conference as a platform to establish a full-fledged Department of Travel & Tourism Studies. Travel & tourism is presently just a course under the Department of Commerce.

Also included was a Special Session on Heritage and Responsible Tourism By Dr. Soumi Roy and Dr. Sachin Bansal (India CityWalks), Special Session on Behavioral Change and Image Rebuilding of Service Providers By Dr. Navin Gupta Director, HIMCS, and New Business Idea Generation in Tourism by Mr. Ravi Prakash, (CEO, askravi.in)

The conference is in keeping with the Indian policy to boost the tourism and hospitality sector via a range of measures such as expanding the e-visa scheme, setting up of five special tourism zones, special pilgrimage or tourism trains and worldwide launch of Incredible India campaign among others.

One of a three-part compendium on the first Tourism Research conference held at Aligarh Muslim University between Nov 27-29, 2017 on the theme of “New Tourism Paradigms in a Changing World: Innovations, Dynamics and Future Perspectives”.

According to the organisers, “The conference will initiate constructive dialogue on perspective from developing countries and will be complemented by experiences which will help participants to gain exposure and to evaluate national and regional strategies.

“This Conference will keep attendees from being insulated from what is going on in the real world. It is important to hear what is going right with other dealers, not just listening to naysayers. This Conference will therefore attempt to explore how the trends described will affect the shape of tourism services in India particularly.”

The conference note says, “With the scope of outstanding educational content and idea generation on varied aspects of tourism in one place, having representatives from various countries and all parts of India, the conference will give our team of leaders (both in the industry and government) access to top strategies and best practices that will help to reduce costs, increase efficiencies, innovate, plan for future and build value in various aspects of tourism industry in India.”

Titles of some of the sample presentations are listed below. For a full set of the presentations, pls contact the conference organising secretary, Prof Sheeba Hamid at amutourismconference@gmail.com.

Peace Through Tourism

How Travel & Tourism Can Help Restore the Balance in the Emerging New World Order

"The travel & tourism buzzword of the 21st century will be the search for balance."

That forecast was made by Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire, in the monthly strategic intelligence publication of PATA, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, way back in February 1999. Today, it is proving spot-on as the word "balance" resonates across all industry sectors.

Travel industry conferences seeking a speaker who can offer some unique historical hindsight, unconventional foresight and thought-provoking insight on how to rebuild and restore the balance in Asia Pacific travel & tourism can email Imtiaz Muqbil by clicking here.

There Can Be No Sustainability Without Spirituality

The New World Order will be dominated by a resurgence of spirituality.

Imtiaz Muqbil claims to be the world's only travel journalist to have visited the Holy Spots of all the major world religions -- Lumbhini, Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Nalanda, Jerusalem, Vatican City, Amritsar, Makkah, Madinah, Najaf and Karbala, as well as religious spots such as Angkor Wat, Bagan, Shwedagon Pagoda, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Temple of The Tooth, Somnath Temple, Samarkand, Bukhara and many other great mosques, shrines, temples and cathedrals worldwide.

Sustainability, ecotourism and health & wellness travel have all become so 'yesterday'. Prepare for the new generation of travel in the New World Order and raise the bar of your next conference, management forum or seminar by hearing Imtiaz Muqbil's thoughts on this unmatched game- and life-changing experience.

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Secrets of Thailand's Tourism Success

Why the Amazing Kingdom is notching up record-breaking arrivals, and what challenges it faces next

The Thai tourism industry has become by far the Kingdom's most successful service sector, one of its leading job-creators and foreign exchange-earners. Behind this success lies a fascinating history of great branding campaigns, policy and regulatory changes, budgetary bunfights, strategic thinking and influence of Royal events.

But this success has now bred a new set of management challenges that may be more difficult to overcome.

Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has been monitoring the pulse of the Thai travel industry full-time since 1981. Industry conferences and management meetings wishing to benefit from a treasure trove of insights and hindsights on one of the world's great tourism success stories can drop an email here: imtiaz@travel-impact-newswire.com.

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The Rise of the Whistle-Blowers

For 15 years (January 1997-July 2012), Imtiaz Muqbil penned a hard-hitting fortnightly column called “Soul-Searching” in the so-called “newspaper you can trust”. In July 2012, the column was gagged, with no explanation.

Over the years, four columns had explicitly forecast the rise of whistle-blowers -- a prediction now coming 100% true. Read the four columns by clicking on the links below.

Too Bad Your Ad Is Not in This Spot

Space available for unique ads that demonstrate commitment to helping physically-challenged people, building global peace, improving social and cultural cohesion, providing opportunities for the under-privileged, alleviating poverty and combatting global injustice & corruption.

If your product is not meeting any of the above goals, please advertise elsewhere.

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News Vs Noise

A Unique Course for Travel & Tourism Communicators In The Internet Era

By far the vast majority of media communications in the travel industry is boring, banal and bland. The same way it has been for the last 30 years.

Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has designed a special communications course to help upgrade both the context and the content of industry media material, and make it more interesting, readable and, most important, relevant.